LA Galbi (Korean BBQ Short Ribs)

What to buy: Ask for flanken-cut beef short ribs: thin strips sliced across the bones, each with a row of small bone sections. About 1/3 inch (8 mm) thick is ideal, but 1/4 to 1/2 inch (6 to 12 mm) works. Flanken is the butcher's name for this cut and is not the same thing as flank steak. Korean and other Asian grocery stores often sell it as LA galbi or LA kalbi, and some butcher counters and warehouse stores carry it too. Plan on about 3/4 lb (340 g) of bone-in ribs per person, since the bones make up a good share of the weight. Thick, chunky short ribs cut between the bones (English-cut) are for slow braising and will not work here. If the strips are thicker than 1/2 inch (12 mm), ask the butcher to re-cut them, because they can burn outside before the center is cooked. Boneless short rib sliced about 1/3 inch (8 mm) thick also works.

How it differs from other galbi: Traditional galbi is usually cut along the bone, so each piece is a thicker chunk of meat on a single bone, often scored or opened up so it cooks evenly. Galbi jjim is a different dish: bone-in short ribs simmered slowly in a soy-based sauce with radish and carrots until the meat is tender enough to fall off the bone. LA galbi is the quick, grill-friendly version, with thin strips, a sweet marinade and quick, hot cooking.

The marinade and the fruit: Grated Asian pear (also sold as Korean pear or nashi) adds sweetness and juice, and Korean cooks often use it to help soften beef. More is not better. Too much fruit, or marinating for longer than 12 hours, can leave the ribs soft and mushy instead of tender, while marinating for less than 4 hours gives a milder flavor. Kiwi, fresh pineapple and papaya are also used by some cooks as tenderizers, but they can soften beef much faster than pear. If you try one in place of the pear, use only a small amount and marinate for no more than an hour or two.

Swaps: A ripe Bosc pear or a sweet apple, such as Fuji or Gala, can replace the Asian pear. Light brown sugar can replace the white sugar and gives a deeper flavor. For a less sweet marinade, use 3 tbsp (38 g) of sugar. No mirin? Use dry sherry, or skip it and add 1 tbsp more sugar. Use regular all-purpose soy sauce rather than dark soy sauce.

Burnt sugar, gray meat and smoke: The sugar in the marinade scorches fast, and a bitter, burnt taste is a common LA galbi problem. Let the extra marinade drip off before the ribs hit the heat, cook over medium-high rather than the highest setting on the grill or stove, and move the ribs to a cooler spot, or lower the heat, if the outside blackens before the inside is done. Deep brown, slightly charred edges are what you want; black patches with a sharp smell are burnt sugar. If the ribs sit in a puddle of liquid and turn gray instead of sizzling, the pan was too full or not hot enough, so cook fewer ribs at a time. Chewy ribs usually mean the strips were cut too thick or cooked too long. Indoors, the marinade makes a lot of smoke, and under the broiler the sugar can go from browned to burnt in under a minute, so stay close.

Doneness and food safety: The 145°F (63°C) target comes from USDA guidance for whole cuts of beef. Strips this thin are easy to misjudge by eye, and color alone is not a reliable sign, so use a thin-tipped instant-read thermometer and treat the cooking times as a guide. Raw beef and its marinade can spread bacteria. Rinsing raw meat can splash those bacteria around the sink, so this recipe pats the ribs dry instead of soaking or rinsing them to draw out blood, as some recipes do. Always marinate in the fridge, never on the counter. Use separate tongs and plates for raw and cooked ribs, and wash your hands, the tray, the tongs and any surface that touched the raw meat with hot, soapy water. Never serve or reuse marinade that touched raw beef.

Spice and variations: Classic LA galbi is sweet and savory, not spicy, so it suits children and spice-shy guests. For some heat, stir 1 to 2 tsp of gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) into the marinade, or serve the ribs with sliced fresh chilies. If you cannot find flanken-cut ribs, the thin-sliced beef in our Beef Bulgogi uses a very similar marinade and cooks in minutes.

Dietary notes: Soy sauce usually contains wheat, and some mirin and rice wines contain it too. If you avoid gluten, check the labels of the soy sauce and mirin for wheat and barley, and look for products labeled gluten-free. The recipe contains soy and sesame. Mirin and rice wine contain alcohol; if you avoid it, leave the mirin out and add 1 tbsp more sugar.

Storage and make-ahead: Refrigerate leftover cooked ribs within 2 hours of cooking (within 1 hour if the room is above 90°F / 32°C) and keep them in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat them in a hot skillet with a splash of water until steaming hot all the way through (165°F / 74°C). To get ahead, freeze raw, unmarinated ribs flat in a freezer bag for up to 3 months, thaw them overnight in the fridge (not on the counter) and marinate as usual.

How to serve it: Eat it Korean barbecue style. Cut the meat off the bones with scissors, then wrap a bite in a lettuce leaf with a little rice and a dab of ssamjang, a thick Korean dipping paste made from fermented soybean paste (doenjang) and red chili paste (gochujang). Perilla leaves (kkaennip, sometimes labeled sesame leaves) make a good second wrapper. Cool, fresh side dishes balance the rich, sweet beef, such as Korean Cucumber Salad, Kongnamul Muchim or Korean Spinach Side Dish, plus a bowl of kimchi. Japchae makes it a feast. A common way to finish a Korean barbecue meal is a bowl of Doenjang Jjigae and rice. Leftover meat, cut off the bones, is good stirred into Kimchi Fried Rice the next day.